Starting and operating circuits and devices for electric discharge devices



Feb. 19, 1952 P. WAGUET 2,586,402

STARTING AND OPERATING CIRCUITS AND DEVICES FOR ELECTRIC DISCHARGE DEVICES Filed May 20, 1948 2 SHEETSSHEET l Invervkor: PhiLippe Waguet b5 'f m His A=t=to neg.

P. WAGUET Feb. 19, 1952 STARTING AND OF ERATING CIRCUITS AND DEVICES FOR ELECTRIC DISCHARGE DEVICES 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed May 20, 1948 Invervtor: phiLippe Wqg uwk.

His A lftorneg.

Patented Feb. 19,1952

UNITED TisTAT152S1 PATENT o VICES Philiiipe' wa lit; Parisj'rirancqas g eral Electri company:

York

A plicationmayfo, v194s, siiarr g gszzis" In France June 14, 1947 s claimmel.

This invention relates tdltri dischargede? vicesiofthe type employing"iohizable'mediiflns suchfa s gases or vapors arid more barticiilarly' start irfgafid operating devicesan d cii'bliit's there: for.

An objedt of my irfiieritioh is to'pi'ovide'nw and improved starting'arid oberating diruitsfor' electrie' discharge lamps energized from" a diiect current Sdfim'e;

Another oiij'eet of my invention is to'provicle' a new and improved operating eir'cuit for lurninbiis electrie discharge devices or fluorescent lam s energizedinseriesfrom a "direct current source A featliiebf 'in'y invention is the provision or" continuous Voltage 'inibuls'e's"to'arfauiiiliafy" eleb trodin the lamps for initiating a discharge be tween: their main electrodes; and the cessation of thse jiinpulse s lipoii the initiatiolf ofan are I discharge Withi'nthe lamps." A further feattife"' of my invention is the useof equiijotenti'al ther 9 mionie' electrodes and lieatin'g" thereof by alternating current in' a group of'lamps which are serially eonneetdedros's a"direet iirrrit" source; These features provide the aa'vantages of long lif ar'i'd efiicient operation. 2

My inv'ehtio'nfisof generalap'plfiability when ever it is'desired t6 Operate"fliioreseeiitilamps from a diredt c'urre'nt 'supmy. It has been foimd" parti iillaifly iiseflil ih the illuniihatidh of cafs'iin'f H electrified'railway's' and permits'the iliimeiiiateo' utilization of the direct ilrrehfs uppli d tdth locomotiveffor instance; the tfaCtiOrYsUppIY'aV 700 voltsfon' the lighting Circuit's;

For a more complete discussion of varioiis ei'r cuitsgigilh'ich may'be utilized in operatin'g' fifibres '55 cent 1"I'i1p s' from fa' direct iirrerit siipplyf refer ence fisii adetofiny czjbeiidmg Ufi's. appliition' No. 28,223, filed May 20, 1948. Otherapplica' tions and improvements ji'n'slich' circuitsare' di's"- closed fin'jfmjr copending U. S. applications Nos. :4 23,225 and 23,225, filed 20, 194 3, and 331,385, 33,386; 3116 33387, file dJiine 16,1948IA11 0f the above 'mentioned applications are assigne to the sai'iieassigneejas the present invention."

For a better understanding of my invention referenee maybe had to the following descrip-' tion taken'in connection with'the ac'ompanyin'g' drawing and its scope will be pointed out in the j appended claims; f Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic 'vi'ew' of a plurality of serially connectedelectric' dis} O charge "devices' and astarting and operatin'gcirj cuit t herefor'ineorporating my inventionifFig'. '2" is a dia'grammatie View of several groups of serially connected electric discharge devices, each" groufibeing "corinectediri parallel "with the other embodiment of my mventiorr' as" applied to-"a vice "id'" and the elements associated'with-"d serially"cormected'devices and. their-cQrre'sb6nd-= the ends ithereofthermionic filamentary elee- A trodes"'3a" and 4a: 'FiIarhentaryelectrodes Ba envelope 'za coritains a; gaseousfatmospherefsuch micr'ons,"The device l'a may be "a1 0W pressure shorter'waireiadiatiprfdn'e to-the discharge" into sputteredffrom'eleetroiies'3a and 4a,*resp ectiv"el' 1 tion f'IampSf-thatfare aeu -lfiy eir ploy conneetedaro's's asuitable dii edt current" groubsso""thatif one lamp of 'a groupshould" become fde'f eotive-"onlya fraction 'of' P the total" lamps"'will be eittin'guisheiljand a 'starting' and operatingeir'cuit therefor incorporatins; 'my in 5 ventioni Reierringtol ig; '1 I' have there illustratedone group: of serially onne'ctecl electric discharge deviceswherein the reference numralsfOr-d vice fa; are extended" by indices tof the other ing elements: The electric discharge" dun/ice" --l a-- (andf'devices l bj'ic), such 'as'a-fiuorescentlamp, therein"illustratecFcomprises airelongated tubular or Cylindrical envelope" 2a 'having' sealed into and ddniaycomprisea eoi'L preferably -in the M form oi a" 'coile'dboil of tungsten Wire "aetivate'd' with oxides of alkaline earth metals sum-asa'--- mixture of bariu'm and strontium-oxides The as a rare gas likf r'iedrrjargoh or'mixtiires'there of, at a pressii're'o'f a few millimeters and asr'n'allquantity *of mercury which; during the operation of the" lanip;hafs a-low' pressure of theorder of 1 positive col1rmnlamp effa fiuoreseerit type pros vided fwith' a suitahl-e phbsphoror" filiorsce'nt coating. "This'-fiiioreseentcoating;'"uppneXcitation by the radiation produeed by an lc discharge between the e1eetro'des;-ftransforrn a longer wavefradia'tion sujc'h as" radiation within the visiblerange: A pair of metal-cups 5a and 6a serve to iritercept particles of emissivemater'ial These" cup iar i is a 'y bnneetedi either outside r or inside or the am pto 'the eit m mes of-"ele'cg 1; fs f n t u ber ofadvantages re-* sult from the eoiinecti'ons ibetween f'filarrieritary electrode' sffltaiid 4a and the eoifresbn'mdingbfip 1: 5a aridjfia rieimelyifiitilizatiori' ofcup Ba' as-a anode and eliminating the I gratiofi by 1 1 1 bombardment of filamentary electrode 4d'-, nt-i1iz"a Withalterhatin ciirreht;reclgetmq p gm n yam supplir eifeu it l, 1" fdr siir iplyiiigeiirrer it to through stabilizing resistances 8a, 8b, and 80 which, for example, may be iron or tungsten wire enclosed in hydrogen. A double-pole manual make-and-break switch 9 may be used to connect devices la, lb, and I to the power supply I. A starting and operating circuit l9, I0 is connected across the direct current supply l, and comprises an inductance H, a switching means l2, and a resistance |3. Auxiliary electrodes Ma, Mb, and Mcmounted adjacent devices |a, Ib, and I0 are connected to a common point l intermediate inductance II and switching means |2 through a time-delay or second switching means It. Resistance l3 serves to regulate the value of the potential which the auxiliary electrodes I la, lb, and Mc assume.

Transformers Ha, Nb, and lie comprising primary winding sections I8a, Nib, and |8c and center-tapped secondary sections |9a, I91), and l9c, respectively, are connected in parallel across an alternating current supply 20,, 20' and serve to heat filamentary electrodes 4a, 4b, and 40, respectively. The center-tap of the secondary winding section 190 is connected through the ballasting resistance 82; to the filamentary electrode 3b of device Ib and the center-tap of the secondary winding section |9b is connected through the ballasting resistance 8a to the filamentary electrode 3a of device Ia. The centertap of the secondary winding section |9a is connected through a coil 2| of a time-delay relay or switching means 22 to the negative terminal I of the direct current supply through contactor 23a of the double-pole manual make-andbreak switch 9. Relay 22, whose coil 2| is in means 22 which contactor is in series relationship with one of the conductors or wires which energize the primary winding sections of heating transformers Ha, H22, and He. The time-delay relay or switching means It comprising a coil 25 in parallel with the primary winding sections of transformers Ha, Nb, and He serves to connect, through a contactor 26, the point |5 to a conductor that unites at a common potential the auxiliary electrodes Ida, Mb, and I40. A contactor 23b of the double-pole manual make-andbreak switch 9 energizes the alternating current heating circuit.

The switching means |2, which serves to break the inductive starting circuit, may consist of a rotary switch which may be mounted on a shaft of a converter which may supply the alternating current for the heating transformers I'la, 11b and He. Such a rotary switch and converter arrangement is more fully described and illustrated in my copending application No. 28,225, filed May 20, 1948, which application is assigned to the same assignee as the present application. Switching means l2 may comprise a rotary switch employing a pair of brushes 21 and 28 which ride on a metal ring 29 comprising an insulating circular section 39.

The circuit and devices indicated in Fig. 1 operate as follows: In the rest position contactor 24 is closed and contactor 26 is open; as soon as the double-pole switch 9 is closed the cathode filamentary electrodes 4a, 4b, and 4c are heated, the rotary switch |2 produces voltageimpulsesat point l5, and coil 25 of timedelay relay I6 is energized. After one or several seconds, the time-delay relay l6 closes its contactor 26, as a result of which voltage impulses are imparted to the auxiliary electrodes Ma, Mb, and Me so that all the lamps are ignited. The discharge current flowing through coil 2| of relay 22 causes the opening of contactor 24 and thus eliminates the heating of the cathode filaments.

Fig. 2 represents by way of example a diagram of connections of discharge lamps for the particular case of a railroad car without compartments and comprising six groups of lamp circuits, each group having seven lamps all subjected to the traction voltage of 700 volts and connected in series, each lamp being 0.60 meter long and absorbing 0.35 ampere; The circuit comprises also a 72 volt auxiliary battery 3|.

Thus, Fig. 2 represents a wiring diagram of several groups of series-connected lamps, the groups themselves being connected in multiple so that if one lamp of a group should become defective only a fraction of the lamps in the total group will be extinguished. In addition, switching means are provided to shunt out or short-circuit a defective lamp and re-ignite the remaining lamps of that particular group in a new series combination. The corresponding elements which Fig. 2 has in common with Fig. 1 have the same reference numerals.

A converter 32, energized by the storage battery 3|, constitutes the alternating current source of supply 20, 20. A manual make-andbreak switch 33 controls the energization of converter 32. A time-delay relay or switching means 34 comprising a coil 35 energized by the storage battery 3| controls a contactor 3B which in turn is in series with the direct current supply I, I. In addition, I provide another time-delay relay or switching means 3! comprising a, coil 38, connected across the direct current terminals of the converter 32, and a contactor 39 connected to point I5 in the starting circuit l0, l0 and a common wire associated with the auxiliary electrodes Ma, Nb, and 140. The closure of contactor 39, actuated by coil 33, energizes the auxiliary electrodes Ma, Mb, I40. A plurality of double-pole contactors or switches 40a, 40b, and 400, etc., associated with devices la, lb, |c etc., may be used for checking the functioning of each respective device. One contactor of each of switches 40a, 40b, and 400 is connected across battery 3| through coil 38, which in turn controls the energization of the auxiliary electrodes associated with each device, and the other contactor of the above-mentioned switches shunts or short-circuits its respective device. Thus, on the one hand these double-pole switches permit short-circuiting the corresponding lamp associated therewith and, on the other hand, make it possible to bring into action the general re-starting system described herebelow.

, By joining together through one single wire 4| the wires which interconnect the fourth and fifth lamps (Id and le or H and 1m) of a series, the number of lamps that go out, should one lamp in a series become inoperative, will no longer be the total sum of the series, for example 7 lamps, but will be reduced to a smaller number depending on where this common wire is placed. In Fig. 2, the number of inoperative lamps would be either three or four, depending in which group of lamps the defective lamp existed.

The circuit illustrated in Fig. 2 operates as follows: In the rest position, with contactors 36 and 39 open and contactor 24 closed, coil 35 of relay 34 becomes energized upon closure of switch 33. The energization of coil 35 closes contactor 38 and applies a voltage across the lamps in the series parallel circuits. In addition, upon closure of switch 33 converter 32 starts, cathode thermionic filamentary electrodes 3a, 3b, 30 etc. are heated, rotary switching means I2 sets up voltage impulses at the point l5, and the coil 38 of the time-delay relay 3'! is energized. After one Or several seconds this time-delay relay or switching means 31 functions and closes its contactor 39, which in turn imparts voltage impulses to the auxiliary electrodes [4a, Mb, I40 etc. and effectuates the lighting of all lamps. The discharge current of the lamp groups which flows through coil 2| of relay or switching means 22 brings about the opening of contactor 24, thus interrupting the heating of the cathode filamentary electrodes of devices la, lb, lc, etc.

When it'is desired to locate a lamp which no longer operates, i. e., in a series of three or four extinguished lamps, closure of the double-pole switch, such as switch 40a, corresponding to lamp la for a moment will indicate by a discharge occurring or not occurring in the remainder of the original series of lamps whether or not the particular lamp la is defective. In this manner, if the defective lamp is lamp m it will be bypassed and all the other lamps of the series will ignite. maining portion of the series, the procedure must be repeated successively for each one of the lamps until the defective lamp is located.

While certain specific embodiments have been shown and described, it will, of course, be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the invention. The appended claims are, therefore, intended to cover any such modifications falling within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Apparatus for operating a plurality of gaseous luminous electric discharge devices, of the type including a main thermionic electrode and a cooperating main electrode, comprising: a prin cipal source of unidirectional voltage and an aux iliary source of alternating voltage, and a ballast resistance; a transformer having a primary winding connected to said auxiliary source and a plurality of secondary windings connected to said thermionic electrodes; a main discharge circuit including said devices connected in series. the thermionic electrode of one being connected to the cooperating electrode of another in sequence, the two remaining main electrodes being connected, in series with said ballast resistance, across said principal source; a starting circuit comprising a limiting resistance, continuously operative switching means for making and breaking said starting circuit, and an inductance serially connected across said unidirectional source; and an auxiliary starting electrode for each of said devices connected to the inductive side of said switching means.

2. Apparatus for operating a plurality of gaseous luminous electric discharge devices, of the type including a main filamentary electrode, a cooperating main electrode, and an auxiliary starting electrode located intermediate the ends thereof, comprising: a principal source of unidi- If a discharge does not occur in the re-' rectional voltage, an auxiliary source of altemating voltage, and a ballast resistance; a transformer having a primary winding connected to said auxiliary source and a plurality of secondary windings connected to said filamentary electrodes; a main discharge circuit including said devices connected in series, the filamentary electrode of one being connected to the cooperating electrode of another in sequence, the two remaining main electrodes being connected, in series with said ballast resistance, across said principal source; a starting circuit comprising a limiting resistance, continuously operating switching means for making and breaking said starting circuit, and an inductance serially connected across said unidirectional source; and connections from said auxiliary electrodes to the inductive side of said switching means.

3. Apparatus for operating a plurality of gaseous luminous electric discharge devices, of the type including a main thermionic electrode and a cooperating main electrode, comprising: a principal source of unidirectional voltage, an auxiliary source of alternating voltage, and a ballast resistance; a transformer having a primary winding connected to said auxiliary source and a plurality of secondary windings connected to said thermionic electrodes; a main discharge circuit including said devices connected in series, the thermionic electrode of one being connected to the cooperating electrode of another in sequence, the two remaining main electrodes being connected, in series with said ballast resistance, across said principal source;

. 2 a starting circuit comprising a limiting resistance, continuously operating switching means for making and breaking said starting circuit, and an inductance serially connected across said unidirectional source; an auxiliary starting electrode for each of said devices connected to the inductive side of said switching means; and a pair of time-delay relays, the first of said relays having a normally closed contactor inserted in series with said primary winding and said auxiliary source and having an operating coil connected in series with said main discharge circuit, and the second of said relays having a normally open contactor inserted in series with said auxiliary electrodes and the inductive side of said switching means, and having an operating coil connected to said primary winding.

PHILIPPE WAGUET.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,844,375 Wiegand Feb. 9, 1932 1,977,231 Erickson Oct. 16, 1934 2,020,731 Lederer Nov. 12, 1935 2,236,195 McKesson Mar. 25, 1941 2,253,185 Lord Aug. 19, 1941 2,456,859 Campbell Dec. 21, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 861,198 France Oct. 22', 1940 

